Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Hayabusa2 Probe Conducts Close Flyby of Asteroid Torifune

Exam-focused facts from the 7 July 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) reported that the Hayabusa2 space probe performed a close flyby of the asteroid Torifune.
The mission was designed to test planetary defense technologies aimed at mitigating the risk of asteroids colliding with Earth.
The spacecraft passed approximately 800 metres from the centre of Torifune, an elongated asteroid with an estimated diameter of 450 metres.
Torifune has an orbital period around the Sun of 383 days and is currently located about 100 million kilometres from Earth.
Launched in 2014, Hayabusa2 has travelled 10.7 billion kilometres and is scheduled to reach its next target, asteroid 1998 KY26, in July 2031.